"I was at home when I got a call from Amy saying Katelyn had been hurt. When I got to the park, Katelyn was in hysterics. She does not like dogs as it is and here she was after being attacked by one.

"A chunk the size of a Dairylea triangle was taken out of her calf muscle. She was taken to the RVI and is now waiting for surgery.

"What happened is totally unbelievable. So many children were attacked by this dog. So much physical and mental damage was done to Katelyn, I don't know how she's going to cope."

One child's injuries after being attacked by the dogCredit:
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Mr Thompson, who works as a factory in North Shields, said a young girl, aged around 10, was also trying to help others at the scene.

He added: "One of the smaller children was injured by the dog and this 10-year-old grabbed her and immediately led her away and tried to comfort her. She was trying to help as much as she could. What she did was great."